Ro to offer Zepbound vials for weight loss drug by working with Eli Lilly

Direct-to-consumer healthcare startup Ro said Wednesday its platform will now offer more affordable single-dose vials of the weight-loss drug Zepbound through a new partnership with Elie Lillywhich aims to streamline access to popular treatment.

Ro said it would offer a “complete end-to-end” experience on a single platform and app, allowing eligible patients to receive a diagnosis and prescription for Zepbound and have vials of the drug delivered to their home. residence. This is made possible through a first-of-its-kind integration with Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer website, LillyDirect, which already offers home delivery of Zepbound vials through a third-party digital pharmacy, Gifthealth.

Gifthealth will distribute the vials to patients who receive Zepbound prescriptions through a Ro-affiliated provider.

Zepbound vials are a cash-only product offered only through LillyDirect, meaning patients pay for it themselves in cash at a lower cost than the auto-injector form of the drug. The vials have the “most affordable” price of a GLP-1 brand drug before insurance, according to Ro. GLP-1s, a class of drugs that mimic gut hormones to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar, have seen their demand skyrocket over the past two years.

“Patients typically have to go to multiple locations to get Lilly’s medicine, such as to the doctor and then to a pharmacy,” Ro co-founder and CEO Zachariah Reitano told CNBC in an interview. “This integration really creates a seamless experience for patients, where they don’t need to go anywhere else. They can access doctors, labs, and a pharmacy that will give them access to Zepbound vials all in one place.

Ro runs a weight loss program that already prescribes Zepbound in a single-dose auto-injector pen, which patients can inject directly under their skin with the click of a button. But this form of the medication is much more expensive than vials, costing about $1,000 a month before insurance.

Zepbound’s 2.5-milligram and 5-milligram single-dose vials cost $399 per month and $549 per month, respectively, before insurance, making them more accessible to those without insurance coverage for the drug. Eli Lilly began offering these bottles through LillyDirect in August.

“Whether you’re covered by insurance or you want the most affordable cash GLP-1, which is Zepbound vials, you can get it all by coming to Ro,” Reitano said, noting that the company helps patients eligible to determine which form of medication is best for them based on their insurance.

He acknowledged that about $400 to $500 a month for Zepbound is “still out of reach for many, but it’s now much more accessible than” $1,000 or more.

The popularity of expensive treatments such as Zepbound and Novo NordiskWegovy’s weight loss injection has led to widespread shortages in the United States. That problem has since eased after Eli Lilly and Nordisk rushed to increase their drug manufacturing capacity.

Yet cheaper compounded versions of GLP-1s have gained ground amid limited supply of brand-name drugs. Eli Lilly is working to expand access to the Zepbound brand in what appears to be an attempt to crack down on compounded versions of the drug.

Patrik Jonsson, Eli Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, said in a statement Tuesday that the goal of the new integration is to “break down barriers and provide patients with safe and effective options they can rely on.” .

The FDA is currently reconsidering its decision to remove Zepbound from its drug shortage list following a lawsuit filed by a trade association representing compounding pharmacies. Removing Zepbound from this shortage list will essentially prevent compounding pharmacies from making customized versions of the drug.

If that ends up being the case, Reitano said Ro will “follow all applicable laws and guidelines” under the FDA and “also fight to ensure our patients have access to the most effective and affordable products “.